Pilot called hero in river landing

Former fighter pilot's judgment 'phenomenal.'

Former fighter pilot's judgment 'phenomenal.'

January 16, 2009|PETER ST. ONGE McClatchy Newspapers

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger, pilot of US Airways Flight 1549, was hailed by fellow pilots Thursday for safely gliding his wounded Airbus A320 onto New York City's Hudson River. Aviation experts say his water landing not only was extraordinary, but smart. Sullenberger, 57, is a 29-year veteran at US Airways and a former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. The California Bay Area resident -- a husband and father of two -- also is a safety consultant for high-risk industries. He did not return a message left on his cell phone by the Charlotte Observer Thursday evening. "What he did under those circumstances was nothing short of magnificent," said Pick Freeman, a retired US Airways pilot. "There's so many things that could have gone wrong today. A wing tip could have caught in the water and caused it to cartwheel ... ." Water landings, while hazardous, are often the best choice for pilots who can't get back to the airport, said John Cox, a Washington, D.C., aviation safety consultant. Cox, who was a US Airways pilot for 25 years, said a water landing can allow the pilot the opportunity to slowly de-accelerate as gently as possible to prepare for landing. Landing in water often means fewer obstructions and less trauma than crashing into a solid surface, experts say. "Where else are you going to put it down in New York City?" asked John Goglia, an aviation safety expert and former NTSB board member in Washington, D.C. US Airways Airbus pilots train three days a year in simulators and classrooms in Charlotte or Phoenix, local US Airways pilots told the Observer. As part of the training, they review procedures -- including what to do when both engines fail. In an event like Thursday's, pilots said, the captain would have reached for a small book near his seat called the Quick Reference Handbook, a 100-page white book that lists, in order, what pilots are to do in a variety of emergency situations. Upon landing on water, one of the final acts the captain would have taken would have been to press what's known as the "ditching switch," a black button that seals the plane's openings on the lower half of the aircraft and allows it to float longer than it otherwise would. "His judgment as to where he put the aircraft was phenomenal," said one US Airways Airbus flight trainer, who asked that his name not be printed because the airline discourages it. "Here he is over metropolitan New York. This could have been really bad. But he had the presence of mind to ditch the plane in the water." One US Airways pilot said that when the engines are off, the plane essentially "turns into a glider." The pilot, who asked that his name be withheld because he isn't authorized to speak to the media, said: "You keep your air speed and you prepare the aircraft to be as airtight as possible." Goglia said it is unusual, but not unprecedented, to have water landings with no fatalities.